Manufactured spending has been a mainstay of Strictly Travel. While the first few months of 2023 haven’t gone my way, I was still able to hit $30,000 in M.S. earning 12 Hyatt Elite Nights in the process. Here’s how the first 2 months of 2023 went!
Table of Contents:
What Still Works?
Manufacture Spending has been a revolving door. When some methods dry up, new one arise. In 2023, the primary method of M.S. I’ll be doing is drop shipping deals. This could range anywhere from 25k per month to as little as 5k per month. You can drop ship anything from electronics to limited edition toys!
Paying bills also continues to be a solid M.S. method. If you’re able to refer a few friends to Plastiq, you can earn fee-free dollars versus paying the standard 2.9% fee. I would only utilize this method if you can get fee-free dollars, otherwise there are cheaper ways to M.S. than getting hit with a 2.9% fee.
Bank Accounts funding is another method that continues to be effective, but your success will vary. This method works well with credit unions.
January – February in Review
In the first two months, I’ve done about $46,000 in M.S. Most of the spend has been on the World of Hyatt Credit Card offered by Chase which helps me requalify for Hyatt Globalist. The remaining spend has been divided between my Chase Business Ink Unlimited and the Citi American Airlines Business Credit Card.
With the spend put of the Hyatt Credit Card, I have already recieved 8 elite night credits, 5 complimentary annual elite night credits, and have another 6 elite night credits pending. This brings me to 19 elite nights before the end of Feb. In addition to the elite nights, I have 16 nights planned by May, bringing me to over 50% of the way to requalifying for Hyatt Globalist without any additional spend. I also earned a nice 35,000 Hyatt points which I personally value at a minimum value of 1 cent per point or $350 total.
$8,000 was put of the Citi American Airlines Business Credit Card. There’s nothing noteworthy other than my attempt to top off my miles balance.
$3,000 was put on the Chase Business Ink Unlimited earning me 4,500 Chase Ultimate Reward points. As I continue to replenish my stash of Chase Points, I’m going to increase usage of this card. I hoped to earn at least 100,000 Chase points this year to replenish my stash.
Biggest Challenges?
The biggest hurdle to flipping was the intense crackdown on flippers by Best Buy. Best Buy was a solid avenue for me for a few months but it looks like I’m right back to square one. In addition, Giftcards.com is no longer showing up on the American Airlines portal. Last year, this was an easy way to earn 3x miles per dollar and accelerate manufacturing American Executive Platinum status.
Final Thoughts
Coming into 2023, I had really high hopes. I think I may have gotten way to ahead of myself. Although I am still on track to hit a few targets, it doesn’t look like my Chase or American Express points stash will continue to grow at a convincing rate. I still hope to have at least 250,000 Chase points by year end. Remember, if you’re looking for additional ways to earn miles and points with little hassle, always use a shopping portal! Check out Cash Back Monitor for the best rates!
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